The Fruit Basket
by Writertainer
Summary: A collection of slice-of-life One-Shots that focuses primarily around the Yu-Boys, Bracelet Girls, Zarc and Ray! Will the story's flavor be funny, heartwarming or maybe angsty? Read and find out! (Pairings between Yu-Boy and respective Bracelet Girl only, as well as Zarcray, but not present in every story)
1. The Yu-Boys and Ribs

**Hello everyone! Writertainer here! For those of you who have read my other story and were waiting for more, I'm sorry it took so long. I had to go see my cousin's wedding in Ontario back in October and during the drive there, while working on other short stories, my computer's drive broke so I couldn't use it. Luckily, I was able to save my stories on a USB and my cousin's brother gave me his old one. Combine that with my schoolwork and I didn't have much time on my hands. On the plus side, I won the Garter throw!**

 **Anyway, welcome to a collection of one-shots which will focus on the Yu-Boys (maybe their dragons) and Bracelet Girls, as well as Zarc and Ray later, which I call The Fruit Basket!**

 **By the way, I am super proud of that name and nothing you say will change that.**

 **The Basket will contain stories of many flavors, meaning the genre will vary from story to story, and each story will be appropriately tagged in the Author's Note. Other characters may make appearances, but the focus will always be on any combination of Yu's and Girls and most will either be silly, romantic, and/or slice-of-life stories. So no AUs or tragedies.**

 **The pairings are one of the only things that will remain consistent. In other words it's only going to be Fruitshipping, Fallenangelshipping (or Egaoshipping if you prefer), Appleshipping, Predatorshipping and Genesis/Fusedshipping (AKA Zarcray), though they will not appear in all stories.**

 **With that out of the way, ENJOY!**

 _ **Characters:**_ **The Yu-Boys, mostly Yuri centric.**

 _ **Pairings:**_ **None.**

 _ **Genre:**_ **Humor, Friendship, Family (kinda).**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V, its characters or the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG/OCG. This story is non-profit.**

* * *

When they heard that ribs was what they would eat for dinner, or supper if you prefer, both Yuya and Yuto expressed their joy with a fist pump, followed by a fist bump. It had been so long since they'd last eaten ribs.

"You guys have never eaten ribs!?"

Only for that joy to turn into shock when Yugo asked what ribs were and Yuri adding that "it didn't sound like anything special."

"I can understand Yugo not having eaten any because of his rough life, but you?" Yuto said to Yuri, who was looking with a rather disinterested look at a list of Maiami's Duel Schools for some reason, "You've really never had ribs?"

"Why would I?" was Yuri's response, "Academia only serves the best dishes to the elite, and ribs weren't among their selections. I don't think it was even served to the lowest-ranking soldiers."

"Just when I thought I had heard about all the ways Leo screwed things up, I learn that he didn't even put ribs on Academia's menu," Yuya said, "You have no idea what you've been missing."

"Well, if it's your mom's cooking, I'm sure it will be great!" Yugo said to Yuya.

Yuri said nothing and went back to looking at the list.

"What are you even reading?" Yuto asked.

"Nothing. Just a list of potential preys."

"Oh my god, Yuri."

At that moment, three young boys with the same face collectively face palmed.

* * *

Once Yoko finished the meal, she left with Yusho to a restaurant so they could enjoy some alone time together, leaving the four boys alone to their meal.

Heading over to the dining room, the four boys' nostrils caught the wonderful scent of the freshly-cooked pork covered in barbecue sauce, appeasing and enticing their stomachs with the promise of a most delicious meal. The boys took their respective seat at the table and that was when Yuri noticed something.

"Hold on, your mother forgot the utensils," Yuri said as he stood up to go get the appropriate silverware.

"Huh?" was Yuya's confused reply.

Yuri stopped and looked back at him. "The utensils. You know, the fork and knife."

"We don't eat ribs with those," Yuto said for his Standard counterpart.

"Then what do you use?" the former Academia student asked, annoyed. Yuto answered him nonchalantly, making it sound as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Your hands."

For one moment, Yuri's brain basically flat-lined.

"Excuse me? I think I misheard you."

"You didn't. We eat ribs with our hands."

He was dumbfounded.

"You must be joking."

"I'm not."

Now, he just felt offended.

"Are you seriously expecting me to lower myself to the level of a mindless barbarian and eat with my hands!?" His voice got louder along with his irritation. He would have said something else had Yugo not decided to speak up.

"You seriously need to chill out if you're getting this angry over food," he said, taking the meat by the bone in his ungloved, and washed, hand, "Food's food, it doesn't matter how you eat it as long as it's good. Take it from someone who's lived his life not knowing what tomorrow's meal would be." The young Synchro user then took his very first bite.

"It's not a matter of food, it's a matter of standards. Something that you clearly do not have, _Fusion,_ " Yuri taunted, closing his eyes. He then waited for the inevitable reaction that would follow.

...

...

...Wait a minute, something's wrong.

"IT'S SO GOOD!"

' _Wait, WHAT!?'_

Yuri's eyes shot open and he looked at Yugo to find him joyously eating a mouthful of pork meat.

"IT'S DELICIOUS! OH MAN, I CAN'T GET ENOUGH!"

Yuri could not believe something so ludicrous had just occurred. He could not believe Yugo had not responded to his taunt. That he did not respond "IT'S NOT FUSION, IT'S YUGO!" in anger. Had he not heard him? Had he grown immune to it?

Or was it the ribs? Were ribs really so good, that it completely overrode any frustration Yugo had upon being called Fusion, causing him to ignore Yuri?

Looking back at his two other counterparts, Yuri found that the topic had been dropped and the two were pleasantly enjoying their meal. _'Are they really that good?'_ he pondered, _'Is it really worth getting my hands dirty?'_ He went back to his seat and looked at the admittedly tasty-looking dish. _'I'll just have one bite. Just. One.'_ Taking one by the bone and scowling slightly at the feeling of the sauce on his fingers, he brought the meat to his mouth for a small, quick bite.

' _...Huh. This is not bad at all.'_ He was still uncertain however, so he took a second, bigger bite.

' _My god, this is... this taste is...'_

"Amazing..." Yuri found himself saying aloud.

The spiciness of the sauce, which carried a hint of sweetness, worked in perfect harmony with the tender feeling of the pork. Every time he swallowed, he found himself longing for more, and he was more than happy to satisfy that urge. So he satisfied it again, and again, and again.

Yuya looked at Yuri for a moment and saw him eating with much less manners than usual. A small, unnoticed smile crept on his face before he went back to eating.

* * *

After washing the dishes, and their hands, the boys were in the living room, all filled with the pleasant feeling of content, and the food they just ate obviously.

"That was one of the best things I've ever eaten!" Yugo said.

"You say that for almost all of my mom's cooking," the entertainer argued.

"Or Rin's for that matter," his Xyz counterpart added.

"I know, but I'm serious about ribs! They were magical!"

"Normally, I'd say that's a stupid thing to say, but I'm actually inclined to believe that statement." Yuri's words shocked everyone. He was actually agreeing, or was at least considering, Yugo's childish claim.

"Why's that?" the Riding Duelist asked.

"I called you Fusion back there and you didn't even notice."

"IT'S NOT FU-Wait, really?"

"Oh, yeah! He totally did!" Yuya remembered.

"It's the truth," Yuto confirmed.

"Wow, ribs really are magical!" Yugo confirmed with a big smile.

"No, you're just an idiot," Yuri taunted with a smirk.

"DON'T CALL ME AN IDIOT, SCUMBAG!"

"Oh, here we go again."

"AND FOR THE RECORD, IT'S YUGO, NOT FUSION!"

Yuri laughed before saying something that had been on his mind for the remainder of meal.

"But seriously, how could the Professor not put ribs on the menu!?"

"I told you he screwed up."

"Maybe he wanted to keep them all for himself," Yuto theorized.

"That _bastard!_ I can't believe I used to work for him!"

Everyone had a good laugh at that.

As he lay on the couch, talking with his counterparts, Yuri thought that maybe a life with them won't be so bad after all. Maybe there was more to life then carding your defeated enemies. Maybe, just maybe, he could come to care for these guys.

' _Did I just change my view on life just because of a few mouth-watering, delicious ribs? ...Seems legit.'_

* * *

 **The idea for this story came from a random thought I had after I had ribs for the first time in my life the day before the wedding. I found the idea cute and silly enough that I wanted to write it. It was harder than expected.**

 **You probably won't see me post anything for a while. I'll occasionally leave a review, but most of my time will be dedicated to working on my college projects. That and Pokemon Moon.**

 **If anyone asks, my starter was Popplio. Obviously. Gotta spread that Egao! No, seriously, I loved it the moment I saw it and yes, it was because of Arc-V and Yuya.**

 **Also, punctuations and capitalization with quotations are a pain to get right.**

 **Reviews, constructive criticism and identifying my spelling/writing errors are all welcome and appreciated.**

 **-Writertainer**


	2. Zarcmas

**Merry Zarcmas everyone!**

 **Since I wanted to post something for this wonderful holiday where we celebrate the revival of the Supreme Dragon King, I decided to create this short story for you all. Honestly, I think the concept alone is what makes this funny.**

 **Anyway, ENJOY!**

 ** _Characters:_ Zarc, Ray, the 4 dragons. Cameos from Reiji, Reira and Leo.**

 ** _Parings:_ Zarcray.**

 ** _Genre:_ Humor, Parody, Romance (a little).**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V, its characters or the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG/OCG. This story is non-profit.**

* * *

All children know about Santa. Every one of them knows that Santa lives at the North Pole, watching every living person on earth, making a list of who was naughty and nice. Every year, children sent Santa a letter, asking him if he could give them a particular item for Christmas, usually a toy. If they were nice, Santa rewarded them with what they asked for, but if not, he filled their Christmas stockings with coal as punishment.

What no one knew, however, was that this Christmas, it wasn't Santa who was going to be delivering presents and coal.

Slamming open the door with his foot while struggling to put Santa's hat on because of all his spiky, silver hair, Zarc walked outside Santa's little workshop dressed in said jolly man's attire, carrying a bag filled with toys. Finally succeeding in putting on the rebellious piece of wool, he headed over to Santa's sleigh to begin the most important quest in his life. Save Zarcmas after Santa mysteriously fell ill due to unknown circumstances that he had absolutely no hand in whatsoever.

"Come on Ray! We're going to be late."

"Why am I helping you do this again?" said girl asked from inside the workshop.

"Because you love me. Also, you lost the bet remember?" was his answer.

A few weeks ago, when her boyfriend had proposed the ridiculous notion of delivering presents instead of Santa this year and to have his dragons serve as the reindeers, she laughed and thought he was just joking. When she saw he wasn't, she just laughed harder. What followed was their usual small bickering and it ended with them making a bet. If the dragons, all four of them, agreed to his idea, he would do it and she would help him, but if he lost, he'd have to help Ray make dinner and accompany her as she went shopping for gifts for their counterparts and her family. Yes, that included helping her find a present for Leo. She thought she had this in the bag.

The fact that all 4 dragons were getting ready to carry the sleigh, with Odd-Eyes taking the front, followed by Dark Rebellion, Clear Wing and Starve Venom shows how wrong she was. Speaking off, said dragons were having a very serious conversation.

" _ **BWAHAHAHAHA!**_ "

In other words, they were enjoying this as much as their master was.

" **I can't believe she's actually going through with this!** " said Odd-Eyes.

" **I'm just happy I'll get to fly around across the sky,** " said Clear Wing.

" **And I'm shocked that you actually agreed to this, Venom,** " Dark Rebellion said to his fusion... counterpart? Brother?

" **Why are you so surprised?** " said Starve Venom, " **After all, Zarcmas is a wonderful holiday where everyone smiles and spreads joy everywhere! And today, we're the ones who will make thousands- no, MILLIONS of little children happy by bringing them the gifts they deserve for being such nice little angels throughout the year!** "

" **...** "

And thus, all four of them fell on the snow, laughing their evil dragon hearts out.

" **HAHAHAHA, YEAH RIGHT! I JUST WANTED TO SEE THE LOOK ON HER FACE WHEN SHE REALISED SHE LOST! IT WAS PRICELESS! I ACTUALLY HAVE A PHOTO!** " Starve Venom then produced four presents from his Venus flytrap-wings things, and gave one each to the other dragons and Zarc. " **By the way, Merry Zarcmas guys.** "

They all opened their presents to see the exact same thing. The photo Venom was talking about.

" **Aw, you shouldn't have,** " Odd-Eyes said as the dragons shared a group hug.

"I still can't believe Santa's real..." Ray said, still behind the door.

Even when she lost the bet, she thought she still wouldn't have had to do anything because she, just like all normal adults and teenagers, thought Santa wasn't real. So imagine her shock when Zarc summoned the Monster known as Satan Claus -seriously, it's a thing, look it up (known as Santa Claws in the TCG)- and asked it to tell him exactly where Santa Claus lived, only for said Monster to show him instead.

"Well, he does. Now quit stalling. Do you really want the poor children to have a gift-less Zarcmas?" Zarc said, saddling his dragons to the sleigh, "Besides, I'm sure you look cute in that outfit."

"Ugh, fine," she sighed as she opened the door.

Zarc was then greeted by the sight of a very embarrassed Ray Akaba, wearing a much more shocking and revealing version of Santa's outfit that exposed her belly button. They had found it inside the closet of Ms. Claus. They also decided not to think about why they had such an outfit, fearing it may scar their minds forever.

Then, the sound of a photo being taken was heard across the silent, frozen tundra of the North Pole.

"STARVE VENOM, I SWEAR IF YOU DO NOT DELETE THIS PHOTO RIGHT NOW I WILL COME OVER THERE AND CUT OFF YOUR DRAGON DICK!" a VERY angry and red-faced Ray shouted.

Said dragon then proceeded to throw his camera on the ground and step all over it. " **Photo? What photo? I don't even have a camera or anything!** "

"GOOD!" she yelled, walking as fast as she could towards the sleigh.

Zarc, having finished saddling his dragons, hopped onto the sleigh a few seconds before his girlfriend. He then saw her in the outfit up close and said, "As I said, you look cute."

He also made a mental note to either keep it, steal it, or ask Santa where he found it.

"I hate you," Ray said plainly.

"I love you too," Zarc replied, and then kissed her forehead.

All she could do was pout and lean into him for comfort. She was then surprised by the feeling of warmth that followed when Zarc pulled a blanket around her.

"You look really cute in that, but I also don't want you to catch a cold."

...She couldn't stay mad at him.

The dragons all went " **Awwwww...** "

Except for Starve Venom, who showed his disgust by making gagging sounds and motions.

"Okay, everyone! We are about to take to the skies, on a mission to- STARVE VENOM, STOP TRYING TO EAT RUDOLPH! As I was saying, we are on a mission to deliver all these presents to those who deserve it, and fill all the naughty kids' stockings with coal! ARE YOU READY?!"

" **YEAH!** "

"THEN WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR?! LET'S GOOOOO!"

And thus, the sleigh took to the skies, pushed not by three magic reindeers, but four evil dragons.

As the sleigh reached over the clouds, Ray was awed by the all the shining stars in the beautiful night sky that greeted them. She could not help but find this moment rather romantic, flying in the sky with her boyfriend by her side, on a magic sleigh pushed by four amazing dragons. She wondered if the thought of this exact scenario was what gave Zarc this crazy idea in the first place.

' _I really can't stay mad at him._ '

 **BONUS 1:**

"Big brother, look! It's Santa!"

Reiji looked through the window using binoculars that he was somehow holding using his scarf.

"Actually Reira, that's just Zarc driving Santa's sleigh with his dragons."

The sound of Leo's face hitting his desk was heard by the two siblings, but neither paid attention. Reira was too entranced and enchanted. Reiji just didn't care.

"I am so done with his shit," Leo murmured.

 **Bonus 2:**

"Next up on the naughty list is Leo!"

Ray sighed. She was not surprised.

"WHOA!" That however, did make her jump a bit. "Santa wants to give him that much coal!? I don't think there is a stocking big enough for all of it!"

Wondering what her boyfriend was talking about, Ray looked at the naughty list and-

"Wow."

"I know, right? What are we going to do?"

" **Fill it with venom instead,** " suggested Starve Venom.

"Hmmmm..."

"Zarc, please."

* * *

 **And that's it! AND I MANAGED TO POST IT JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT! WOO HOO! (In Canada anyway.)**

 **No but seriously guys, Merry Zarcmas. Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukah. Happy Holidays.**

 **And a happy new year.**

 **Reviews, constructive criticism and identifying my spelling/writing errors are all welcome and appreciated.**

 **-Writertainer**


	3. Irreplaceable

**So guys, do you like apples? Cause this time, the Fruit Basket is filled with Appleshipping!**

 **I came up with this idea while writing chapter 2 of Prison of Scales. Speaking of which, this was finished before I even began on Chapter 3. Said chapter is almost finished, but I probably won't be posting it immediately after it is, that way I can start working on the other ones.**

 **This is the first chapter of the collection to NOT be humor. If you think I have to change the genre of the story because of this, let me know.**

 **In any case, I hope you like it.**

 ** _Characters:_** **Yugo, Rin.**

 ** _Pairings:_** **Appleshipping.**

 ** _Genre:_** **Hurt/Comfort, Romance.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V, its characters or the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG/OCG. This story is non-profit.**

* * *

There aren't many things that Yugo fears.

Sure, sometimes he could be afraid of Rin's reactions whenever he messed something up, and other times, he was scared that he broke something on accident or that Rin had injured herself, but very rarely did he ever experience a feeling of dread.

But, ever since he had been reunited with Rin, there has been one thing, one question that he has been dreading to hear. A question he was afraid to answer, one he _never_ wanted to answer.

"Yugo, where is our D-Wheel?"

Because he knew the answer would hurt her.

Their D-Wheel, the symbol of their dreams, had been destroyed during the war. But that was not the reason why Yugo did not want to answer her.

It was because she had been the one to break it.

Under the influence of a parasite in her brain, Rin had been forced to duel for Academia, forced to duel Yugo. When a powerful attack by Wind Witch – Crystal Bell, a Fusion Monster born from the parasite's hold on Rin's heart, had caused Yugo to lose control, the resulting crash had completely demolished the D-Wheel, making it irreparable. They would have to start over from scratch.

It was only after a few seconds had passed and she said his name again did Yugo give her an answer.

"I broke it."

A lie, but one that he needed to say. He didn't want Rin to know what she did. She wasn't being herself, so she shouldn't be blamed. Besides, it really was his fault. Had he been stronger, this wouldn't have happened. So he was ready to take all the blame, even if she hated him for it.

Rin was too smart, however, and knew Yugo too well, to fall for it.

"Don't lie to me, Yugo. You may be clumsy most of the time, but you're still the best D-Wheeler I know. Plus, you always took good care of it, so I know you didn't break it."

"Well, it's broken, and that's it."

He was hoping to end the conversation then and there, but unfortunately for him, Rin had no intention of letting him go until he told her the truth.

"Yugo, what happened?" Her tone of voice told him she was not happy he was keeping secrets from her.

"I don't want to talk about it," he said as he moved to leave the room, but Rin stopped him by roughly grabbing him by the arm.

"Yugo, answer me."

"I said, I don't want to talk about it." Both of their voices were getting higher in volume.

"Stop acting like a child and tell me what happened to our D-Wheel!"

"I'm not acting like a child! I just don't want to tell you!"

"Don't want to tell me!? I worked on that D-Wheel just as much as you did! I deserve to know!"

"Maybe you did, but I can't tell you!" At this point, they had both lost their cool and were now yelling at each other.

"WHY CAN'T YOU TELL ME!? WHAT HAPPENED THAT'S SO BAD, THAT YOU HAVE TO KEEP SECRETS FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD FRIEND!?"

"BECAUSE IF I TOLD YOU, YOU'D FEEL AWFUL ABOUT IT!" Only after the words left his mouth did he register what he said. His eyes widened and both of his hands covered his mouth, but it was too late.

"WHY WOULD I-" Rin's yelling was cut short when an image momentarily flashed in her mind. An image of a memory she doesn't remember experiencing, one that made her stop and think more on what Yugo had said.

The longer she thought about it, the more worried she became. A single thought had been planted into her mind and as that thought grew, so too did a sick feeling in her stomach.

"Yugo... did-"

"Nothing happened, Rin! So just forget about it!" Yugo cut her off, trying to stop her from figuring it out, but all it did was enhance her growing suspicions of what happened.

"Was it... Did I-"

"You did absolutely nothing wrong, Rin!" He tried so desperately to get her to stop thinking about it.

But it was all in vain. An image had shown itself in her mind.

A memory of her wearing a Duel Disk that belonged to the soldiers of Academia, with a single Fusion Monster on its blade. Before her a trail of broken parts, belonging to some form of vehicle, all leading to the horrifying sight of an injured Yugo laying next to a white, broken D-Wheel. In that moment, the truth dawned on her.

"It was me."

She did it. She dueled Yugo and broke the D-Wheel. It was _her fault_.

The realization had her cup her face into her hands as the shock brought her to tears. This is what he was afraid of, that she'd blame herself.

"I-I broke it. I broke the D-Wheel we spent our entire lives building!" she wailed, and it broke Yugo's heart.

"No, Rin, it wasn't your fault! You weren't you at the time!"

"I destroyed the symbol of all our hopes and dreams! Stupid Rin! How could you do that!?" She began chastising herself. It was so wrong to him. She shouldn't be doing that, she should be chastising him! He was the stupid one!

"Rin, please stop! Listen to me!" He desperately wanted to comfort her, to stop the tears from running down her beautiful face. But she kept ignoring his words, drowning in her overwhelming feelings of guilt.

"I'M SORRY! I'M SO SORRY!"

"Stop apologizing! You don't have to apologize for anything, Rin! RIN!"

It hurt. It hurt so much. It hurt seeing her like this, but she just didn't listen. It became too much for him, and as a result, he did something that he could end up regretting. Looking back, he would definitely say it had been a risky and impulsive action to take. However, Yugo was never afraid of taking risks. Just like his Dueling, it was go big or go home, which was why he did what he did.

That was why he kissed her.

And it worked. Rin's eyes shot open to see Yugo gently but firmly kissing her with his eyes closed. All traces of guilt promptly disappeared from her mind to be replaced with disbelief. Yugo was kissing her!

Before she had even finished processing what was happening, Yugo pulled back and opened his eyes. His clear blue ones meeting with her confused yellow with a serious look she had never seen from him before.

"Rin, I don't blame you for what happened because you didn't do it." She was about to argue, but he cut her off with a finger to her lips. "Listen. When we were dueling then, you weren't you. You were manipulated by whoever did this to you, so stop blaming yourself," he paused to run his thumbs against her cheeks and wipe away her tears away, "and don't cry. We haven't lost our hopes or our dreams. I'm sad that our D-Wheel is gone, but we can make another one," he then brought their foreheads together, never breaking eye contact, "But you, Rin, are more important to me than anything else in the world. I love you. I don't care that there are three other girls who look just like you, you're the one I spent my whole life with."

"D-Wheels can be built and rebuilt, but to me, you're irreplaceable."

During Yugo's entire speech, the cold feeling of pain and guilt that had been coursing through her whole body was slowly being replaced by a pleasant, comforting warmth. The tears of sadness that she had been shedding had stopped, soon to be replaced by those of joy. At the end, she was rendered speechless.

"Yugo..." was all she said before throwing her arms around him in a tight embrace, one that he returned in kind. "Yugo, thank you. Thank you so much. I love you too."

No more words were said, both of them opting to hug each other in silence.

It would take a minute before anyone spoke again. "Are you alright now?" Yugo asked.

"Yes. I'm fine now. Thanks to you," she answered with a smile, breaking the hug to look at him.

"You're welcome. Now, do you want to start on the new D-Wheel?"

"Actually..." she closed the distance between their faces slightly, "could we kiss again? It felt very nice."

Yugo smiled and answered, "Of course, anything for you," before the two of them closed their eyes as well as the remaining distance between their lips. The new D-Wheel would have to wait.

* * *

 **These apples were very bitter at first, but then they were super sweet! I loved them!**

 **I hope you liked them too!**

 **Apologies if you thought Yugo was OOC, but I have the feeling that being raised in poor environment, he knows what's truly valuable.**

 **Reviews, constructive criticism and identifying my spelling/writing errors are all welcome and appreciated.**

 **-Writertainer**


End file.
